Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport

Obesity

Baroness Eaton: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the importance of leisure centres in addressing obesity; and what plans they have to provide additional support prior to the Comprehensive Spending Review.

Baroness Barran: Sports and physical activity facilities play a crucial role in supporting adults and children to be active. It is important that leisure centres remain accessible for people from all backgrounds as we make efforts to return to normality after the Covid lockdown period.Outdoor swimming pools have been able to open from 11 July, and from 25 July indoor gyms, leisure centres (including sports halls) and swimming pools in England have been able to reopen. These facilities are able to offer on-site services to customers, provided they are COVID-secure and follow Government guidance.Sport England have announced a £210 million package of support to help community clubs through this crisis.Specific support for local authorities was announced through the income guarantee scheme on Thursday 2 July by the Secretary of State for Local Government, aimed to support local authorities who have incurred irrecoverable loss of income from sales, fees and charge which they had reasonably budgeted for.

Leisure: Coronavirus

Baroness Eaton: To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to support the public leisure centre sector to avoid (1) further redundancies, and (2) the closure of public leisure facilities in local communities.

Baroness Barran: Sports and physical activity facilities play a crucial role in supporting adults and children to be active. It is important that leisure centres remain accessible for people from all backgrounds as we make efforts to return to normality after the Covid lockdown period.Outdoor swimming pools have been able to open from 11 July, and from 25 July indoor gyms, leisure centres (including sports halls) and swimming pools in England have been able to reopen. These facilities will be able to offer on-site services to customers, provided they are COVID-secure and follow Government guidance.Sport England have announced a £210 million package of support to help community clubs through this crisis.Specific support for local authorities was announced through the income guarantee scheme on Thursday 2 July by the Secretary of State for Local Government, aimed to support local authorities who have incurred irrecoverable loss of income from sales, fees and charge which they had reasonably budgeted for.

Television Licences: Older People

Lord Maginnis of Drumglass: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they attached any conditions to the agreement for the BBC to fund TV licences for those aged over 75; what plans they have to reduce any grants to the BBC in line with the decision to discontinue free TV licences for those aged over 75; and what plans they have, if any, to meet the costs of providing such TV licences.

Baroness Barran: In the 2015 Licence Fee funding settlement, the Government agreed with the BBC that the BBC would take responsibility for the over 75s concession from June 2020. In return, the Government closed the iPlayer loophole, agreed to increase the licence fee in line with inflation for the duration of the settlement period, and reduced other BBC spending commitments. In advance of the BBC taking on full responsibility for the concession, the Government also provided phased transitional funding to the BBC to gradually introduce the cost to the BBC.The BBC is responsible for the over 75 licence fee concession, not the Government. Following a public consultation, the BBC Board decided that from June 2020, any household with someone aged over 75 who receives Pension Credit will be entitled to a free TV licence paid for by the BBC. The Government is deeply disappointed that the BBC has chosen not to extend the over 75 licence fee concession in full. We recognise the value of free TV licences for over-75s and believe they should be funded by the BBC.

UN General Assembly: Anniversaries

Lord Hannay of Chiswick: To ask Her Majesty's Government what progress has been made in consideringthe proposal to rename Broad Street Sanctuary as UN Green to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the first meeting of the UN General Assembly in Methodist Central Hall.

Baroness Barran: The United Nations charter was signed 75 years ago this year. The charter set out the aims of the UN “to bring nations and peoples together to preserve peace and security, and improve lives everywhere”. The United Kingdom played an important role in the establishment of this multilateral organisation, including hosting the first General Assembly at the Methodist Central Hall in London. Activities are ongoing globally to recognise the anniversary of the UN.Proposals for the renaming of streets must be made through the local council, in this instance the City of Westminster.

Data Protection

Lord Clement-Jones: To ask Her Majesty's Government whenthey plan to publisha new National Data Strategy.

Baroness Barran: The Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, the Rt Hon Oliver Dowden CBE, announced the publication of the framework National Data Strategy and its accompanying consultation on the 9th September 2020. The consultation is on a UK-wide basis and we are keen to hear from a representative cross section of society, ensuring diversity, and inclusion. The consultation will be open to all on gov.uk until the 2nd December, with alternative methods of responding to the consultation provided.

Government Departments: Data Protection

Lord Clement-Jones: To ask Her Majesty's Government what action the Information Commissioner's Office will be taking against misleading statements given by international cloud providers about the security of UK data on their platforms following the following the judgment by the European Court of Justice in the Schrems II case.

Baroness Barran: The Information Commissioner’s Office is an independent public body and is the UK’s independent regulator for data protection and freedom of information. The UK Government does not speak on its behalf.Information on the powers available to the Information Commissioner and how they are used is available in the Regulatory Action Policy published on the Information Commissioner’s Office website. The ICO will consider any complaints from individuals that are concerned about their rights in connection with international transfers.The UK Government’s statement on the Schrems II judgment is available on Gov.UK and the Information Commissioner’s Office have published their most recent statement on their website, which sets out the approach to be taken following the Schrems II judgement.Regulatory Action Policy (pdf, 177.2KB)

Television Licences: Non-payment

Lord Truscott: To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to decriminalise non-payment of the TV licence.

Baroness Barran: We believe that it is right to look again at whether the criminal sanction remains appropriate for TV licence fee evasion given ongoing concerns about whether the criminal sanction is unfair and disproportionate. On 5 February 2020, the Government launched a public consultation on decriminalising TV licence evasion, closing on 1 April after receiving over 150,000 responses. We will listen carefully to those that have responded before setting out our next steps.

Parliamentary Works Sponsor Body

Palace of Westminster: Repairs and Maintenance

Lord Truscott: To ask the Parliamentary Works Sponsor Body what plans they have to conduct an independent review (1) of the costs and benefits of the restoration and renewal scheme for the Palace of Westminster, and (2) of the attendant costs and benefits of decanting MPs and Members of the House of Lords to other sites.

Baroness Scott of Needham Market: The Restoration and Renewal Programme is considering the costs and benefits of a range of possible interventions for restoring the Palace of Westminster as part of the preparation of the outline business case for the works, which both Houses will be invited to endorse, as required by section 7 of the Parliamentary Buildings (Restoration and Renewal) Act 2019.On 19 May the Sponsor Body announced it would conduct a strategic review of the Programme. On 1 July I wrote to all Members of the House inviting them to make submissions to that review by 7 August, which was also notified by way of a written statement (HLWS321). Members of the House of Commons were invited to do the same by the Sponsor Body spokesperson in that House.The costs and benefits of decanting both Houses to alternative sites was previously assessed in support of the deliberations of the Joint Committee on the Palace of Westminster. These sites have also been considered as part of the strategic review, alongside additional alternative sites, and the outcome of that work will form part of the review’s findings.The review will conclude in the autumn and its findings will be considered by the Sponsor Body Board and the Commissions of both Houses in the first instance.

Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office

Syria: Sanctions

Baroness Cox: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon on 16 July (HL6213), (1) when, and (2) how, they intend to transfer existing EU sanctions relating to Syria into UK law; and whether Parliament will be given time to discuss that transfer.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: Her Majesty's Government is transferring existing EU sanctions into UK law through regulations made under the Sanctions and Anti-Money Laundering Act 2018, including the Syria (Sanctions) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019. These regulations will come into force on 1 January 2021, at which point existing EU sanctions will become autonomous UK sanctions. The Syria (Sanctions) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019 were debated and approved in both Houses in April and May 2019.

Weapons: Proliferation

Lord Collins of Highbury: To ask Her Majesty's Government why the counter proliferation programme has been suspended until further notice.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: The FCDO suspended in part its Counter Proliferation Programme for FY 20/21 as we reprioritised to tackle the Covid-19 response, and in view of HMG's Overseas Development Assistance prioritisation exercise.Covid-19 has made it more difficult to carry out international programme work with many Counter Proliferation programmes being deferred to next year.However, we have made exceptions for critical national security activity for the remainder of FY 20/21 - including support to the IAEA in relation to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action on Iran. The Foreign Secretary has since approved remaining programme allocations for this financial year. The Counter Proliferation Arms Control Centre in the new FCDO is now assessing how to deliver a programme to ensure that we meet critical counter proliferation objectives for the remainder of this FY.

Yemen: Cluster Munitions

Lord Hylton: To ask Her Majesty's Government whatassessment they have made of the reporteduse of banned cluster weapons in Yemen; and what progress, if any, has been made towards a ceasefire in that country.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: The UK welcomed Saudi Arabia's commitment in 2016 that it would no longer use BL-755 cluster munitions, which were exported from the UK, with the last delivery being in 1989. We have no evidence that this assurance has been breached and have not seen evidence of any recent use of cluster munitions in Yemen since 2016. We continue to monitor the situation closely. We regularly emphasise to Saudi Arabia the importance of conducting thorough and transparent investigations into alleged International Humanitarian Law violations. UN Special Envoy Martin Griffiths is continuing to seek the parties agreement to a permanent ceasefire and a resumption of the UN-led political process. We fully support these efforts and urge the parties to engage constructively with the Special Envoy.

Department for International Trade

Board of Trade: Tony Abbott

Lord Myners: To ask Her Majesty's Government what remunerationpackage they have proposed to Tony Abbott in connection with his proposed membership of the Board of Trade.

Lord Grimstone of Boscobel: Membership of the Board, and the role of Adviser to the Board, is not paid. Members may have their reasonable travel costs reimbursed following each meeting. All expenses which are incurred will be published on GOV.UK.